As a precursor to dinner, we whipped up some spicy cheese souffles made with pureed chipotle in adobo, aged cheddar, bleu cheese, scallions, and cilantro. Inspired by the current Hay Hay it’s Donna Day, these were nearly perfect little savory and spicy breaths of fluffy egg and cheese goodness.

Deflated chipotle and bleu cheese souffleT: souffle is a little like cotton candy. It’s big. but once it gets in your mouth it all but disappears. Not to say it wasn’t extremely tasty, but… it goes *poof* and there is nothing. Kinda like a big fluffy cat that has been shaved.A: you do have a point. i didn’t really know what was going to happen tonight. i wasn’t particularly scared of my souffle not rising because of all the research i did before hand, but i didn’t really know what a souffle tasted like! this was the first souffle that i’ve ever eaten! it really did go poof.T: it was my first souffle too. Just curious, how healthy/unhealthy was this little puff of delight?A: weeeell… on the cholesterol scale, it’s probably not so good. there was a little less than 1 egg yolk per ramekin and about one egg white. add that to the cheese and milk, and you’re not looking at the most healthy thing in the world. tasty though! quite tasty.T: ok so if I’m on the biggest loser I’m not going to want to gorge myself on bleu cheese and cheddar souffle. That’s basically what you’re telling me.A: yup, pretty much! i happen to be a firm believer in “every thing’s good in moderation”. T: which is why I only smoke one crack rock per day.A: 😛 what-ever like, you are totally not smoking crack everyday! that would totally mess up your tastebuds and make you unable to be a good WWE partner!T: yeah, as the lovely whitney houston once said, crack is cheap. crack is wack.A: heheh crack is wack, yo! but souffle is grrrrrreat!T: it is quite tasty. Is it typically served as an appetizer or side dish?A: i’m pretty sure it’s served as a side dish most of the time. i could be wrong though.T: where in the world are people eating souffle on a regular basis? France?A: that’s my guess. and here. and everywhere! we just hadn’t caught on the souffle bandwagon yet. but you can bet this won’t be the last time i make one of these delicious savory airy “breaths”.T: When you first said you were making a souffle I thought you were talking about flambe. I’m uhhh…. slow.A: nah, just unexperienced. i can help you out, baby.T: yes you can. you certainly did tonight. I gotta rate this souffle a… how can I rate something without anything to compare it to? well, hmm…. it was really tasty. And it did seem really fluffy. I’ll give it a 4.4/5. How bout you?A: i think i must have enjoyed this one more than you did. i give it a 4.56/5. it was fantastic. i could have eaten the other three…easily. it was cheesy. it was spicy… it had hints of onionness. i just loved it.T: now I was looking around on the internet earlier today and I saw some chocolate souffles. Ummm… so, what’s up with that? in other words, are you planning to make one soon?A: 😉 well i wasn’t going to, buuuut. maybe i’ll make one for laurie’s birthday dessert! and of course it will have caramel sauce (as she’s requested)…T: when is her birthday?A: that doesn’t really matter! the real question should be, “when is she coming to visit?”! that would be mid-february. so be on your toes!T: i’m on my toes right now, woman!

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Liberally butter 4 (8 oz) ramekins, then coat the ramekins with freshly grated parmigiana. Make the bechamel: In a sauce pan over medium heat, melt 3 tbsp butter. Once the butter has completely melted and has finished foaming, stir in 3 tbsp of flour. Cook for about one minute, stirring constantly. Do not allow the butter to brown at all. Slowly drizzle in 1 cup of milk, whisking vigorously to ensure all the flour is fully incorporated into the sauce without lumps. Allow the sauce to reach a simmer, stirring frequently. Once the sauce has reached a simmer, remove it from the heat and stir in the cheddar, blue cheese, chipotle puree, cilantro, and green onions. Taste the sauce then season with salt and pepper as necessary, the eggs will add a bit more sodium so go easy on the salt. Transfer the sauce to a mixing bowl, then add one egg yolk at a time to the bechamel, until all the yolks have been added. Whisk the sauce until the egg is fully incorporated after each addition. In a separate, very clean, mixing bowl add the egg whites and cream of tartar. Beat the egg whites to the soft peak stage. Add 1/3 of the egg whites to the bechamel, and gently fold until thoroughly incorporated. Repeat this step until all of the egg whites have been folded in. Pour the mixture equally into the prepared ramekins, then place the ramekins on a baking sheet. Place the baking sheet into a 400 degree oven. Once they are in the oven, with the door shut, reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees. Bake for about 25-30 minutes. DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN DOOR. If you open the oven door, the change in temperatures will cause the souffles to fall or not rise properly - resist the temptation. The souffles are finished when they are puff, golden brown on top, and just set in the middle. Serve immediately... you'll be surprised how quickly they will start to deflate! Enjoy!

thanks chase! it’s worth a try… and yeah.. i know, we can be total slackers about contacting people. but i did it! see, it just takes perserverance! and we are totally interested.

nicole, i’m SO serious. i mean, i’ve seen that picture dozens of times, and i can’t keep from belly laughing everytime. just the thought of it! as far as the souffle is concerned it’s definately worth a try! i turned out to be soooo simple. of course, that’s after i went out and purchased an electric beater. every other time i’ve tried to achieve soft peaks (or firm peaks) with my trusty old whisk, i end up in a state of miserable failure! so, i decided, hey! they only cost like 15 bucks… why not! they were way worth it.

Ros, you know, there really isn’t much to be scared of as long as you don’t open the oven door! and as long as you just fold in the egg whites gently! now about the souffle addiction… i’m gonna have to agree that much is probably valid. i rarely eat eggs. i have great cholesterol levels at this point, but now that i’ve seen the glory that is the souffle… man, i think i’m gonna be on that road to clogged arteries! (and yes. i’m in my mid-twenties!) 😉

I love souffles! I’ve never had a savory one though…only dessert types, but even the okay souffles are still pretty darn tasty. This one looks awesome. Cheese, eggs, onions…those are like the three best things in the world!

thanks bron! i feel the same way about the poor kitty… but for some reason i just can’t control my laughter when i look at it!

jef, i figured as much, since it’s reallly the egg whites that are making them fuffy. but what’s the fun in a healthy souffle! 😛 it’s absolutely true, our souffle didn’t wait for us to get a great photo before it started to sigh out its breath. you should totally hope on the food blog event bandwagon… they’re a great way to meet people in the community as well as find reasons to make stuff. check out Is My Blog Burning for a list of all the current events.

michelle! awesome! now i know what i can make when we get together for a dinner/photo session! king cake and souffle. and some veggies of course!

Thanks girlie! you guys are too busy galavanting through europe to fool around with things like recipes! i still read your site daily (i’v just been silent with envy) and love it all! i can’t wait to see what mr. boots busts out once you guys return from europe and get some down time!

Souffles are one dish that completely intimidates me ,therefore have neverattempted to make them.But after reading your post and seeing the great pictures I think I am going to try it.By the way,I love your website!

Thanks barbara! and thanks for coming up with HHDD! it always inspires me ;-D

thanks rachel! your gorgonzola souffle looks out of this world, too! great photo!

don’t be scared elizabeth! the worst that will happen is that it will come out more like a quiche than a souffle! still edible and yummy!

thanks john! i’m glad it went well! you’ll have to leave your girlfriends project website in a comment so i can go visit!

thanks madame aria! i seriously doubt you are bad at them! but they are so fleeting. by the time i got to the camera the souffle had given it’s final sigh and depuffified. 😐 it still tasted airy when we sat down to eat them though!